honestadj.adv.

Brit.

/ˈɒnᵻst/, U.S.

/ˈɑnəst/

Forms: Middle English oneste, Middle English–1500s honeste, Middle English–1600s honnest, Middle English–1600s onest, Middle English– honest, 1500s–1600s honist.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French honest.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman honest, onest, Anglo-Norman and Middle French honneste, honeste (French honnête ) honourable, virtuous, just, frank, commendable, appropriate, suitable, excellent, fine, estimable, conforming to the rules of polite society (from 11th cent. in Old French), courteous, civil, decent, respectable, (of a woman) irreproachable in conduct, chaste (13th cent.) < classical Latin honestus regarded with honour or respect, honourable, of high rank, worthy of respect, decent, fine, handsome < honōs , honor honour n. + -tus, suffix forming adjectives. Compare Catalan honest (14th cent.), Spanish honesto (13th cent.), Portuguese honesto (13th cent.), Italian onesto (13th cent.).In later use in French (from at least the late 17th cent.) also in uses indicating a more qualified evaluation of things or actions, ‘acceptable’, ‘middling’. In use of behaviour sometimes with the connotation ‘appropriate to a courtier, conforming to expected norms, urbane, showing good manners or social polish’ (compare honnête homme n.).

A. adj.

1. Of a thing, condition, action, etc.

†a. Of a feast: magnificent, sumptuous; stately, splendid. Also (of food): fine, delicious. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > meal > feast > [adjective] > sumptuous

richc1300

honestc1330

Lucullian1892

Lucullic1904

Lucullan1913

c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 4072 Fourten niȝt Arthour held fest Swiþe noble and swiþe onest.

c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 94 (MED) Þe fyge and þe filbert were fode med so fayre..Apples and Almaundus þat honest are of ayre.

c1450 (?a1400) T. Chestre Sir Launfal (1930) l. 632 (MED) Fourty dayes leste þe feste, Ryche, ryall, and honeste.

†b. Worthy of honour, honourable, commendable; (also) that confers honour, that does a person credit. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > [adjective] > bringing credit or honour (to)

honest1340

worshipful1340

honourable?a1400

graceful1595

honorary1606

dignifying1630

creditablea1639

creditable1655

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 222 Þet stat of spoushod is zuo holy and suo honeste.

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 780 In honeste wise as longeth to a knyght.

1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 1^v Alle vertuouse and honest thynges.

1509 Kynge Rycharde Cuer du Lyon (de Worde) sig. E.vi Crystmasse is a tyme full honeste Kynge Rycharde it honoured with grete faste.

1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome ii. 153 Thare wes na batall mair honest, than this last rehersit.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxiij^v Kyng Henry..founded a solempne schoole at Eton..an honest Colege of sad Priestes, with a greate nombre of children.

1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. xi. 43 That respects onely things delectable and pleasant, this Honest.

1657 O. Cromwell Speech 8 May in Writings & Speeches (1947) (modernized text) IV. 513 The things are very honourable and honest, and the product worthy of a Parliament.

1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Speeches Ajax & Ulysses in Fables 467 Many a manly Wound: All honest, all before.

1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. v. 312 Know, 'tis not honest in my Soul to fear, Nor was Tydides born to tremble here.

1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lxi. 287 An honest zeal in behalf of innocence oppressed by quibble and chicane.

c. Not deserving of disgrace or reproach; respectable, decent; (also) seemly, befitting. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [adjective] > specifically of things or actions

worthyc1300

honest1340

honourablea1393

laureate1535

reputable1659

creditable1740

defamelessa1814

smutchless1853

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 229 Loke þe uram uoule wordes þet ne byeþ naȝt honeste.

?a1425 (?c1350) Northern Passion (Rawl.) l. 2276 To plant þa wandes in honest place, ffor to be keped honestly, And wirschiped als þai war worthi.

a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 60 It were more honest that I shuld have such a wyf, and my felaw to have suche a wyf as I have.

1514 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 52 I will that, the day of my buryall, she maik an honest dynner to my frendes and neybours.

1555 in A. G. Dickens Marian Reaction in Diocese York: Laity (1957) ii. 16 She may contynue & remayne in any honest place withoute the saide house of Mousby.

1633 Earl of Manchester Al Mondo: Contemplatio Mortis (rev. ed.) 35 Honest sepulture is a blessing.

1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 20 Corantos, Sarabands and Jigs, used for honest mirth and delight in Feasts.

a1662 T. Craufurd Hist. Univ. Edinb. (1808) 77 In bestowing upon the Colledge an honest residence for the Muses.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ii. 44 To come and take up an honest house, without cross or coin to bless yourself with.

1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl I. ii. 34 Letting a tribe of shabroons and painted jezebels into their honest house.

1807 Athenæum 1 Sept. 244 He had an honest burial, with a funeral sermon, and other circumstances becoming one of his rank and reputation.

1870 I. N. Harwood Heir Expectant ii. 37 Your presence..would be contamination in any honest dwelling.

1882 Rev. E. P. Rogers 27 To aspire to merit for ourselves, each in his turn, an honest commemoration.

1997 W. Beik Urban Protest in 17th-cent. France vi. 121 Perhaps the use of the cemetery indicated that the victims..deserved an honest burial.

†d. With reference to appearance: presentable, decent, respectable; neat, tidy; without blemish. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective]

faireOE

comelyOE

winlyOE

goodlyOE

hendya1250

hendc1275

quaintc1300

seemlyc1305

tidya1325

avenant1340

honestc1384

sightya1387

properc1390

well beseena1393

queema1400

speciousa1400

featousc1400

parisantc1400

rekenc1400

well-favoureda1438

wellc1450

spectable?a1475

delicatec1480

jollya1500

bonny?a1513

snog1513

viewlyc1536

goodlikec1550

sightly1555

sightful1565

beholdinga1586

eyesome?1587

decent1600

vage1604

prospicuous1605

eyely1614

fashionable1630

well-looking1638

softa1643

fineish1647

well-looked1660

of a good (also ugly, etc.) look1700

likely-looked1709

sonsy1720

smiling1725

aspectable1731

smirkya1758

likely-looking1771

respectable1776

magnificent-looking1790

producible1792

presentable1800

good-looking1804

nice-looking1807

bonnyish1855

spick1882

eyeable1887

aegyo2007

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xii. 24 Tho membris that ben vnhonest, han more honeste. Forsoth oure honest [a1425 L.V. oneste; L. honesta] membris of noon han nede.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 6067 A clene lomb þat is honest.

1483 Mirk's Festial (Caxton) sig. cvii Men wold make hem that day shere hem and pollen her heedes and..so make hem honeste ageyn ester day.

a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 240 (MED) Fayre thynge and honeste clothynge kyndely delytyth manes herte.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 28 Toures full tore torret aboue..Made all of marbyll..With ymagry full honest openly wroght.

?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. R. iiij He hath created the chin..after so honest a forme, and hath enriched it with a bearde.

a. Of a person: (originally) †holding a position of honour; distinguished, noble (obsolete); (hence) held in good esteem; respectable, reputable. Now rare.In later use passing into sense A. 4b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [adjective]

faireOE

wortheOE

worthlyeOE

worthfulOE

menskful?c1225

toldc1275

digne1297

of price?a1300

worshiply1340

worthya1350

menska1375

thriftyc1374

worshipfula1375

worthilya1375

honesta1382

honourablec1384

unshamedc1384

sada1387

of reputationc1390

well-nameda1393

reverent1398

worthy (worshipful, wise) in wanea1400

celebrable?c1400

honouredc1400

worshipablec1425

substantialc1449

undefameda1450

unreviled?1457

honorousa1500

reputed?1532

well-thought-ona1533

well-spoken1539

credible1543

undespised?1548

imitable1550

famous1555

undistained1565

undefame1578

untarred1579

well-reputed1583

unsoiledc1592

dishonourless1595

well-deemed1595

nameworthy1598

regardful1600

indisgraced1606

credenta1616

undishonoureda1616

unscandalized1618

unscandalous1618

unslandered1622

untainted1627

dignousa1636

undisparaged1636

considerable1641

unbranded1641

glorifiable1651

reputable1671

unsullied1743

unstigmatized1778

undisgraced1812

unstained1863

well-thought-of1865

uncompromised1882

scandal-proof1904

cred1987

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xiii. 2 Berthen vp on hym he taketh, that comuneth to the honestere [a1425 L.V. a more onest man; L. honestiori] than hymself.

c1390 (c1300) MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 256 A wydewe..com þis Condulmasse feste, And heo wolde han, as wyf honeste, Hire Masse.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 158 (MED) Olympyas..Wolde make a riche fest Of kniȝttes and lefdyes honest.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Ecclus. xi. 23 It is esy in the iȝen of God, sudeynli to make onest [E.V. to honesten; L. honestare] a pore man.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 25 A woman..Onest & abill & Ecuba she hight.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xlvj^v The honest and sustanciall persons arrested or indited.

1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iv. 111 Houses, wherein liue the honester sort of people, as Farmers in England.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant iii. 57 He told me That that Country is pleasant enough, and full of good honest People.

1692 London Gaz. No. 2735/4 The Purchaser to take 2 honest Men, and the Seller 2 more, for all such Goods.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 112. ⁋5 Young Gentlemen, descended of honest Parents.

1796 A. Dirom Inq. into Corn Laws & Corn Trade Great Brit. ii. 69 Honest and substantial persons.., being neither merchants nor factors for the importing of corn.

1828 Casket May 201/2 All I desire is, that my son-in-law should be a man of probity, and descended from an honest family.

1854 J. E. Cooke Leather Stocking & Silk xxxii. 135 It is neither graceful or becoming for one so well descended as yourself, to thus trifle with the traditions of an honest family.

1995 A. Thomas Labyrinth of Word vii. 107 Ludvik encounters..an apparently respectable bourgeois posing as a dandy. It turns out that Karel is from honest farming stock in Bohemia.

b. As a general epithet of appreciation or praise for a person, esp. as used in a patronizing way to or of an inferior. Frequently as a form of address, often with my. Cf. good adj. 4c. Now somewhat rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [adjective] > specifically of person

goodlyOE

thriftyc1374

duec1449

prettya1450

honest1551

well-qualitied1567

tight1601

of sort1606

reg'lar1814

bricky1864

sublimish1864

1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Uij Suche a one is a very honest man, For I had good cheare at his house.

1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 309 Honest man, is this the way to Bolonia?

1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. i. 176 Your name honest gentleman?

1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 16 These were for laying Honest David by, On Principles of pure good Husbandry.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 45 Let Mr. Bickerstaff alone (says one of the Honest Fellows), when he's in a good Humour, he's as good Company as any Man in England.

1720 W. Congreve Impossible Thing 16 The Clown..louder cry'd, Ho! honest Friend.

1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. iv. xiv. 425 Truce with your compliments and skink away, honest Tosilos.

1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) I. (at cited word) A Northern baronet..chairman of quarter sessions, was accustomed, when he sentenced a prisoner, to begin, ‘Now, my honest man, you have been convicted of felony’.

1855 W. Collins in Househ. Words 31 356/2 His amiable sister—who is not to be passed over because you don't mention her, my honest man!—lives within ten minutes' walk of my house.

1889 R. Clynton Life Celebrated Buccaneer xxxvii. 229 Take care, my honest fellow, that designing people neither make a tool nor a fool of you.

1916 P. G. Wodehouse Piccadilly Jim xiv. 218 When he appears, I will say ‘Ah, Skinner! Honest fellow!’ or words to that effect.

1997 J. R. Russell tr. J. Kuhnau Musical Charlatan xv. 41 Caraffa..causes our musici to..trade their sensible human voices for the voice of a senseless beast. What's to be done for these honest gentlemen?

†a. Of a person or society: of good moral character; virtuous, upright. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > [adjective]

goodeOE

dowingc1175

well-theweda1200

thewful?c1225

goodfulc1275

flourisheda1375

virtuousc1390

honesta1393

fine?a1400

theweda1400

well-manneredc1400

well-conditioneda1425

moralc1443

mannerlya1500

virtuala1500

graceful1611

well-moralized1624

well-principled1635

morate1652

unlicentious1737

respectable1750

nice1799

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 1516 So scholde he be the more honeste To whom god yaf so gret a yifte.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2024 A King Wys and honeste in alle thing.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 18 He is so clene in his corte, þe Kyng þat al weldez, And honeste in his housholde.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings i. 52 Yf he wil be an honest man, there shall not one heer fall from him vpon the earth.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xxii. 28 Beyng a good Pilot and a very honest man.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 393 For the credit of this honest and loyall..societie.

1673 W. Cave Primitive Christianity i. i. 10 The honester and severer Romans were ashamed on 't.

1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane Ded. It were to be wish'd..that the World were honest to such a degree, and that there were not that scandalous defect of common morality.

b. Esp. of a woman: virtuous as regards sexual morality, chaste; virginal. archaic and rare after early 18th cent.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > purity > chastity > [adjective] > chaste > of women

honesta1400

virtuousa1600

zoned1726

straight1893

tight-assed1903

a1400 Cato's Distichs (Fairf.) l. 57 in R. Morris Cursor Mundi (1878) III. App. iv. 1670 Fle to take wife..bot ho be honest..ne halde hir for na druri. if ho be vnchest.

1428 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 79 The mariage of onest and poure maidens.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Esdras xvi. 49 Like as an whore enuyeth an honest woman.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 95 Wiues may be merry, and yet honest too.

1669 T. Shadwell Royal Shepherdess i. i. 12 You marry'd me to keep me honest, did you?

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 118. ⁋2 The Maid is honest, and the Man dares not be otherwise.

1899 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Oct. 797/2 An Alsacian spy..seduced an honest girl, and then..shot her, and kidnapped her child.

2002 Ethnologia Europaea 32 23/2 Although a seduced girl had her honour restored by the award of satisfaction,..a woman could not regain the..reputation she had enjoyed as an honest maid.

a. Of an action, feeling, etc.: done with or expressive of truthfulness, fairness, or integrity of character or intention; free from deceit; genuine, sincere. Also: done with good intentions even if unsuccessful or misguided.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > of statement: agreeing with reality

soothlyc888

soothfastc950

truea1250

very1303

strait1340

honesta1400

soothfulc1400

precisec1443

veritable1474

just1490

perfect1523

faithful1529

sincere1555

unmangled1557

truthful?1567

neat1571

oraculous1612

punctual1620

oracular1631

unvamped1639

strict1645

unembroidered1649

ungarbled1721

unexaggerated1770

veracious1777

unfictitious1835

unexaggeratinga1854

uncooked1860

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adjective] > without deception

unfeignedc1374

honesta1400

rekenc1400

unfeigningc1400

entirec1430

sincere1539

pretenced1547

fraudless1580

uncoloured1585

unflatteringa1586

upright1587

undissembling1613

deceitless1628

single-hearted1804

undelusive1817

single-minded1836

undeceptive1846

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 22914 Sant gregor gaf ansuer honest.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 4008 He ne dude no tresoun. His dede ne was bot honest, For he dude his lordes hest.

1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 189 Leuefull Company and Honest Besynes.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 382 Their honest and reasonable excuses could not be heard.

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 268 A quiet harvest that might arise out of their own honest labour.

1658 J. Bramhall Consecration Protestant Bishops Justified x. 218 It is none of the honestest Pleas, Negare factum, to deny such publick Acts as these.

a1695 J. Scott Pract. Disc. (1697) I. xi. 464 For a Man to..mask his real Intentions with contrary Appearances, is a very uneasie Way of living; for there is twice the Difficulty in every Thing that he aims and drives at, as there is in an honest and above-board, Procedure.

a1732 J. Gay Fables (1738) II. vi. 48 Unbrib'd, unaw'd, he dares impart The honest dictates of his heart.

1790 F. Burney Diary July (1842) V. 145 He came..with an honest, straightforward security of the welcome he really found.

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lii. 465 The very best and honestest feelings of the man came out in these artless outpourings of paternal feeling.

1883 Law Times 20 Oct. 408/1 The object of a bankruptcy law..should be the economical and honest distribution of a bankrupt's estate.

1919 H. Walpole Secret City iii. xv. 435 No young man likes to be discovered hidden behind a coat-rack, however honest his original intentions!

1942 ‘H. H. Holmes’ Rocket to Morgue 51 They frequently made honest attempts at forecasting scientific developments.

1984 D. Iverson & R. Grant Team Ministry v. vi. 67 They sent the money to my home, and through an honest mistake..it was inadvertently placed in my personal bank account.

2001 R. Dawkins in Devil's Chaplain (2003) iv. 179 To be fair, many pushers of dishonest remedies are motivated by an honest desire to help.

b. Of a person: that acts fairly and with integrity; that is not disposed to lie, cheat, or steal; truthful; trustworthy; sincere.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > rule of law > [adjective] > law-abiding > not transgressing the law

honestc1540

unoffending1569

unfraudulent1590

innocent1811

law-abiding1839

uncriminal1864

infelonious1876

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 2^v Ovyd and othir þat onest were ay..Thes dampnet his dedys.

1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. i. 42 He, which plainly telleth the trueth, sheweth himself to be an honest man.

a1600 Doctrynall Good Servauntes in E. F. Rimbault Anc. Poet. Tracts 16th Cent. (1842) 8 Ye seruauntes..Be ye honest and dylygent.

1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 282 The honestest Monks we know are sometimes tempted to say strange things.

1734 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. IV 238 An honest man's the noblest Work of God.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 189. ⁋12 She..was at last convinced that she had been flattered, and that her glass was honester than her maid.

1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsemanship iv. 18 A Dealer in Moorfields (who..is no honester than he ought to be).

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 177 Though often misled by prejudice and passion, he was emphatically an honest man.

1897 W. Raleigh Style 125 The pillory and the stocks are hardly educational agents, but they make it easier for honest men to enjoy their own.

1907 E. von Arnim Fräulein Schmidt xiv. 55 I tell you I am incurably honest. I cannot bear to lie.

1956 G. Metalious Peyton Place iii. viii. 324 Lucas was always the crooked one in that family. Nellie..was honest as the day is long.

1971 S. Howatch Penmarric (1972) iv. i. 370 She was a good, decent, honest person whom my father had dragged through the mud.

2011 New Yorker 11 July 38/1 And the culture of evasion has negative consequences... It means that the revenue burden falls too heavily on honest taxpayers.

c. attributive. Of money, gain, etc.: acquired without cheating or stealing; legitimate; legally or fairly earned, esp. through hard work.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > rule of law > [adjective] > in accordance with the law > specifically of money, gain, etc.

honest1559

1559 W. Bavand tr. J. Ferrarius Common Weale ix. f. 198^v The vsurer of honest gaine.

1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer iii. f. 89^v An honest wealth have won thee..whereby they sought to have undone thee.

1647 S. Birckbek Cordiall for Heart-qualme ii. 56 Honest earnings shall furnish our Table with all.

1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 131. ⁋10 To..take to some honest Livelihood without Loss of Time.

1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer iv. 147 Each seeks in the prosecution of his lawful business that honest gain which supports them.

1825 L. L. Cameron Houlston Tracts I. 10 (title) An honest penny is worth a silver shilling.

1881 Burlington (Iowa) Daily Hawk-eye 20 Mar. To engage in sawing wood,..or anything else that would gain for them an honest living.

1904 Reader June 5/1 Presidio..had enough skill in several occupations to earn honest wages, but seemed unable to forego the pleasure of exercising his wit in confidence games and sneak-thievery.

1950 J. Lait & L. Mortimer Chicago Confidential ii. xxiv. 210 His honest millions were not enough to take her away from..her underworld associations.

2005 Nelson (N.Z.) Mail (Nexis) 18 June (Features section) 16 He earns an honest living as a Takaka bone carver.

d. Free from guile or dissimulation; ingenuous, innocent; candid, straightforward; (in later use esp. of the face) genuinely reflecting a person's character, open, frank.In later use of people, often merging with sense A. 4b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adjective]

aefauldOE

trueOE

true as steela1300

throlya1375

entirec1380

faithfula1382

entirelyc1400

single1519

sincere1533

sincere1539

simple-minded1556

Dunstable?1565

truthful?1567

single-hearted1574

single-minded1577

sound1580

downright1584

unaffected1592

real1597

plain-hearted1601

unartificial1603

free1619

honest1634

fair and square1636

round-dealing1642

wholehearted1657

down flata1663

well-designing1670

heart-whole1684

single-eyed1705

unsanctimoniousa1797

natural1825

bona fide1827

unfallacious1827

jannock1828

forthcoming1835

up and down1836

bonified1840

forthgoing1851

unhypocritical1854

forthright1855

upstanding1863

on the level1872

genuine1890

for real1954

upfront1967

1634 J. Ford Chron. Hist. Perkin Warbeck ii. sig. C4 Blesse the young man, our Nation would be laughd at For honest soules through Christendome.

1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 20 I am a doating honest Slave.

1701 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother i. i. 171 Dull heavy things! Whom Nature has left honest In meer frugality.

1778 Ann. Reg. 1777 Characters 43/1 A short thick-set man, with a very honest ingenuous countenance.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 437 The honest monk was so illiterate that he did not know what he ought to say on an occasion of such importance.

1866 W. D. Howells Venetian Life ii. 23 He beheld the honest swindling countenance of a hotel portier.

1927 Boys' Life Jan. 29/1 He was..a big strapping fellow with clear eyes, and an eager, honest face.

1983 H. Blamires Guide 20th Cent. Lit. in Eng. 43 The honest ingenuous comic who puts his foot in it and is trapped into matrimony by a glamorous journalist.

2005 A. Sabol Elem., my Dear 37 A delighted smile spread over his honest features.

e. In predicative use. Truthful or candid in regard to a particular matter; disposed to admit the truth of something (frequently something unpalatable). Earliest in to be honest at Phrases 2.

ΚΠ

1743 H. Fielding Journey from this World i. 19 in Misc. II. 153 A very poor and numerous Family, which, to be honest with you, procured its Livelihood by Begging.

1772 P. H. Treyssac de Vergy Lovers II. xl. 210 You have been very plain with Lady B— L—; be as honest with me.

1796 S. H. Burney Clarentine III. xviii. 32 I thought it best to be honest with him at once, and therefore answered very calmly.

1846 Evergreen Apr. 126/1 The reader will remember that a man always speaks of his own efforts as ‘humble’, when he entertains a high opinion of them. We may as well be honest about it.

1865 Bible Christian Mag. May 204 Uncle Peter, come now, be honest about the matter; are you a converted man?

1914 R. Blunt In Cheyne Walk & Thereabout iv. 138 Our own doctor, if he dare be honest, will tell us how often he prescribes some merely innocuous mixture.

1928 P. Grainger Let. 31 Jan. in All-round Man (1994) 88 You blame yrself for not being honest with me last summer.

1995 Independent on Sunday 27 Aug. (Real Lives section) 11/1 If we are honest, we know we're buying a dream.

2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Aug. 10/4 She is balanced and honest about treatments, acknowledging that there is no cure.

5. attributive. Of a thing: not appearing to be or presented as other than it actually is; genuine, unadulterated; (later chiefly) unsophisticated, unpretentious.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > in its natural state, unsophisticated

purec1300

right1466

sincere1557

in grain?1577

genuine1607

unsophisticate1607

honesta1616

undistracted1656

unsophisticated1664

inartful1714

unabsurd1744

in the raw1785

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 111 Behold what honest cloathes you send forth to bleaching.

1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière New Voy. Northern Countries 31 We were glad to betake ourselves to the provisions we had brought..which was honest Bisket and salt Beef.

1713 J. Addison Tryal Count Tariff 3 Every thing he wore was substantial honest, home-spun Ware.

1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 805 He may wrap himself in honest rags At his last gasp.

1812 G. Crabbe Tales xiv. 253 His Conscience never checks him when he swears The fat he sells is honest fat of bears.

1884 F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads I. ii. xxxvii. 322/2 Bringing some honest bread and wine with her.

1935 Rotarian Mar. 55/2 Showy pretense must be avoided, such as concrete blocks masquerading as honest stone.

a1951 H. C. Bosman in L. Abrahams Unto Dust (1963) 135 I could sit on my stoep and fill my pipe with honest Magaliesberg tobacco.

1994 Best 2 June 25/5 They know they'll get honest food cooked to as near perfection as I can.

2007 Metro (Toronto) 14 Feb. 26/2 A flawless balance of credible, non-pretentious, honest music.

B. adv.

1. In an honest manner; by honest means; honestly. In later use regional and nonstandard. Now chiefly U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb]

without(en, but leasec888

soothfastlya890

soothfasta1300

aefauldly1472

truthly1490

gospelly1596

sincerely1597

honest1654

sacredly1706

rightly1786

veraciously1807

truthfully1828

veridically1832

unfallaciously1852

honest-like1899

salva veritate1930

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adverb]

utterly?c1225

entirelya1340

faithlyc1350

without (but) feigningc1380

clearly1389

whollyc1390

unfeigninglyc1400

entirec1430

unfeigneda1469

without coloura1513

honestly1526

singly1526

unfeignedly1526

uncolourably1541

bona fide1542

frankly?1553

sincerely1560

squarely1564

uprightly1565

square1577

single-mindedly1579

undissemblinglyc1585

above board1599

fair and square1604

downright1607

downrightly1632

really1641

uncasuistly1649

honest1654

up tro1654

plain-heartedly1675

unaffectedly1677

straightforwardly1839

wholeheartedly1845

unfallaciously1852

up and down1854

single-heartedly1857

unflatteringly1874

uncynically1895

square on1963

1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. i. 176 And why slay him, if that he honest meant?

1671 F. Philipps Regale Necessarium 330 Wares and Commodities, honester made.

?1790 Busy Bee II. 144 And ven I can't sheat, I'sh deal honest, Ish swear.

1810 Trial between W. Leworthy & Globe Insurance Co. 48 He always behaved very honest to me.

1898 Smith Coll. Monthly Apr. 323 I came by my money honest and I've worked hard.

1902 Emporia (Kansas) Weekly Gaz. 27 Feb. The boys acted honest about the matter and really won the sympathy of the policemen.

1979 Foxfire 5 31 You better get it [sc. money] honest. If you're a card player, get it that way.

2011 H. Dimon Victoria's got Secret viii. 65 He worked honest and hard.

2. colloquial (originally U.S.). Used to emphasize, or persuade a person of the truth of, a statement. Cf. honestly adv. 4a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb] > as emphasis

God (it) wot?c1225

goddot?a1289

sooth to sayc1330

truth (also sooth) to tella1375

honestly1819

honest Indian1854

truthfully1854

honest Injun1857

on the level1872

straight1874

honest1876

square dinkum1888

no kidding1901

straight-up1963

1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer ix. 91 Tell me, Joe,—honest, now, old feller—did I do it?

1901 S. Merwin & H. K. Webster Calumet ‘K’ viii. 160 Honest, Hilda, I don't see how he does it.

1928 F. B. Young My Brother Jonathan ii. iv If it weren't for the life at Prince's I don't think I could stick it..honest!

1972 ‘J. Bonett’ & ‘E. Bonett’ No Time to Kill viii. 103 Of course I don't know a thing, but, honest, I can't see anyone here doing these people in.

2007 J. Leeds Taproom Tales x. 184 I know nothing about it, honest Guv.

Phrases

P1. to make (a woman) an honest woman, to make an honest woman of (a woman): to marry (a woman) with whom one has had sexual relations, or who is otherwise not considered to be respectable in terms of accepted standards of sexual morality; (later humorously without connotations of restoring respectability) to marry (a woman). Later occasionally also used of a man.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)] > a woman

weda1000

brideOE

spousec1300

wed to warisonc1330

to take to matrimonyc1400

wivec1425

to make (a woman) an honest woman1562

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > celebrate (a marriage) [verb (transitive)] > marry after seduction

to make an honest woman of (a woman)1562

honest1611

honestifya1652

1562 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 145 Sche refused otherwayis to consent, except he wald mak hyr ane honest woman.

1629 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. (ed. 5) xiv. sig. D8 The best worke he does is his marrying, for it makes an honest woman.

1664 J. Wilson Cheats iii. iii. 38 Some or other should marrie her up, and make an honest woman of her.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. viii. 260 Miss Nancy was, in vulgar Language, soon made an honest Woman.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 211 She was now made an honest woman of.

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ix, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 201 Effie was married—made, according to the common phrase, an honest woman.

1887 M. E. Braddon Like & Unlike III. v. 64 I wish he had been free to make your sister an honest woman.

1920 D. Goldring Fight for Freedom iii. 51 She will never consent to be made an honest woman of—just like a housemaid who has got into trouble.

1968 R. Harris Nice Girl's Story v. 38 When are you going to be made an honest woman?

1990 J. Deveraux Mountain Laurel xiv. 248 I guess you'll make an honest man out of me, won't you? You weren't taking advantage of me in the last few days?

2002 G. Hinton Desperate Hearts xi. 115 ‘Sam and I were married last year.’ Gloria..smiled. ‘Well I'm glad he made an honest woman of you.’

P2. to be honest: used as sentence adverbial to convey one's willingness to be candid or truthful: speaking frankly. In recent use frequently as an emphasizer. Frequently with modifying adverb as to be quite honest, to be perfectly honest, etc.

ΚΠ

1743 [see sense A. 4e].

1750 L. Briant Some Friendly Remarks Serm. preach'd Braintree 25 And then again (to be honest with you) I confess I have not sometimes been without my Doubts whether or no the Language in which Calvin wrote might not a little startle you.

1785 W. Hutton Bran New Wark 6 Inkhorn words, to be honest, we knaw lile abaut.

1853 C. Dickens Bleak House li. 488 Sir,..to be honest with you (honesty being my golden rule, whether I gain by it or lose, and I find that I generally lose), money is the word.

1874 Harper's Mag. Nov. 852/1 Besides, to be quite honest, I was afraid the marchese, who was as lithe and agile as a tiger, would be more likely to kill Sebastiano.

1894 H. R. Chamberlain 6000 Tons of Gold xiii. 286 To be absolutely honest, I cannot plead complete ignorance of the dangers which I risked.

1942 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 2 Apr. 10/1 To be honest, I will admit that I am headstrong and do not like to be bossed.

1999 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 14 May 17 To be perfectly honest neither of those semi-finals was too hard.

2011 A. Fitzpatrick Strictly Legal 124 I never asked for any details to be honest.

P3. colloquial (originally U.S.). honest to God (also honest to goodness, etc.).

a. Used, frequently parenthetically, to emphasize the truthfulness or sincerity of a statement: genuinely, really. Cf. honestly adv. 4a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adverb] > truly, genuinely

trulyc1225

truea1400

veritably1481

veritable1490

authentically1593

indeeda1616

genuinely1640

real1645

unpretendingly1701

honest to God1892

1892 Christian Union (N.Y.) 21 May 990/1 ‘Honest to the Lord!’ burst out Mary Ann, ‘this do beat all!’

1895 Scribner's Mag. Feb. 197/2 There ain't no call for you to believe what I say, but honest to God, this is only the second job o' this kind I ever was in.

1914 ‘B. M. Bower’ Flying U Ranch 192 Honest to grandma, a little gore would look better to me now than a Dutch picnic.

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist v. 212 Oh, honest to God, if the crook of it caught him that time he was done for.

1929 W. H. Thomson That Terrier ‘Brick’ xiii. 69 Honest-to-goodness, I didn't know that I was doing anything wrong.

1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer v. 80 We honest to God really dislike each other.

1992 I. Pattison More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts 134 Honest to Christ, I've got my name doon for a double hip replacement, know what I'm saying?

2001 Mod. Maturity Nov. 87/1 Sometimes I look out there and, honest to Pete, I see those planes coming in.

2006 G. Malkani Londonstani ii. 18 You could tell if the people at home were friendly if the car parked in the driveway was a car with a friendly face. Honest to God, I in't jokin.

b. In attributive use (usually hyphenated): genuine; sincere; unaffected, down-to-earth.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > genuine, real

soothc888

soothlyc888

soothfastc1175

germanec1384

truea1398

sickera1400

upright?a1500

uncounterfeita1542

righteous1543

legitimate1551

truepennya1556

arrant1570

uncounterfeited1571

real1573

current1578

genuinal1599

unforged1610

unpretended1611

legitime1614

unabusinga1628

Lubish1632

genuine1639

undissembled1651

undissimulate1652

ingenuine1661

infallacious1677

real live1684

unfalsified1688

unmistaken1694

pukka1776

undissimulated1776

unassumed1818

uncynical1824

Simon Pure1834

sure-enough1837

unsimulated1840

straight-out1848

true blue1852

veritable1862

really (and) truly1864

authentic1868

true-metal1868

kosher1896

twenty-four carat1900

honest to goodness1905

echt1916

dinky-di1918

McCoy1928

twenty-two carat1962

right1969

1905 Lock Haven (Pa.) Express 23 Aug. (advt.) Rose cream. An ‘honest-to-goodness’, really meritorious preparation which when applied to the face relieves the smarting of sunburn.

1913 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel 24 Apr. 2/5 He is a regular honest-to-God man.

1937 J. B. Priestley Two Time Plays p. xi It was not until I substituted for him an honest-to-goodness exiled German professor that the play began to look right.

1969 P. Stursberg Those were Days xx. 69 There was nothing wrong with good honest-to-gosh partisanship,..you knew where a paper stood then.

1985 R. Silverberg Tom O'Bedlam (1986) iii. 64 A madhouse? Really? An honest-to-Christ nuthatch?

2012 M. R. Thompson I've had it up to here with Teenagers 119 When a mom or sister gets an honest-to-God compliment from a son or brother in the household, it's the real deal.

P4.

a. Chiefly Sport (originally U.S.). to keep (a person) honest: to ensure that (an opponent) does not gain an unfair or unearned advantage; to keep (an opponent) guessing as to one's tactics or approach.

ΚΠ

1950 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 28 Sept. 13/5 In between times he throws an occasional fast ball ‘to keep the hitters honest’ and a few curves.

1988 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 22 Aug. He was kept honest by the hard-pressing Graham Stockley in his three litre Porsche RSR who finished second in both heats.

2005 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 19 Nov. (Sport section) 5 It's often necessary to play weak starting hands from time to time to mix things up and to keep your opponents honest.

b. Australian. to keep the bastards honest: to ensure that politicians behave fairly and openly, and are accountable for their actions.Originally used as a slogan by Don Chipp (1925–2006), leader of the Australian Democrats, with allusion to the party's aim to hold the balance of power in the Australian Senate.

ΚΠ

1980 Canberra Times 9 Oct. 2 ‘Keep the bastards honest’ is a good catch cry. So is participatory democracy, which is another Australian Democrat cry.

2017 S. Burnett Times & Rural Weekly (Queensland) (Nexis) 8 Sept. 40 Let's make all seats marginal. We can't keep the bastards honest, so let's make them nervous.

Compounds

C1. Forming (chiefly parasynthetic) adjectives and related nouns, as honest-hearted, honest-looking, honest-minded, honest-natured, etc.

ΚΠ

1565 L. Evans Brieue Admon. sig. Aiii^v To move and bring anye honest harted man, to abhorre and myslyke all your licencious, lewde, and ouerstreached learning.

1583 G. Peckham True Rep. Newfound Landes v. sig. E.iv^v Worshipful, honest minded, & wel disposed Marchants.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) v. i. 84 My honest Natur'd friends.

a1629 E. Sandys Europæ Specvlvm (1632) 206 An honest-hearted [earlier honest heart] desire, but no probable dessein.

1707 S. Centlivre Platonick Lady v. 63 Oh unparrallel'd Confidence, how cam'st thou by that honest looking form, hast thou not a Cloven Foot?

a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 28 A chearful honest-hearted clown.

1830 Imperial Mag. Nov. 1071/1 Emulsion of almonds, by means of which..water may be changed into fair and honest-seeming milk.

1856 Peterson's Mag. Mar. 229/2 Rose, with her honest-eyed farmer, settled down in the dear old homestead.

1895 J. Smith Perm. Message Exod. xix. 304 Jethro brings in his honest-heartedness.

1912 Outlook 19 Oct. 367/1 The heroine..is..a warm-hearted, honest-minded, and thoroughly independent woman.

1928 Rotarian Jan. 7/1 Honest-acting good fellowship.

1962 L. Swortzell Tom Taylor's Our Amer. Cousin ii. 73 Rough-spun, honest-hearted Asa Trenchard.

1985 B. Small This Heart of Mine iii. 94 They had no intention of replacing an honest-born English queen with a Spanish infanta.

2010 D. West Project Sponsorship ii. vi. 66 You decide that I'm an honest-looking chap, not half as seedy as you first thought.

†C2. poetic. In combination with other adjectives, with the sense ‘honest and ——’. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1592 R. Greene Sc. Hist. Iames IV (1598) ii. sig. D^v Yet would I (might I chuse) be honest poore.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. iv. 46 As I haue euer found thee honest true.

C3.

honest broker n. a person or nation acting as a diplomatic mediator between opposing nations, states, etc.; also in extended use.Originally with reference to or as an epithet of Bismarck. [After German ehrlicher Makler, originally translated as ‘honourable broker’ (see quot. 1878¹), used in a speech by Otto von Bismarck to the Reichstag on 19th February 1878, with reference to the role of Germany as mediator between Russia and the Ottoman Empire in a proposed conference to bring about a peaceful end to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–8).]

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > peace > pacification > [noun] > peacemaker

peacemaker?a1425

make-peacea1513

pacifier1533

compounder1539

pacificator1539

truce-maker1552

ground-layer1603

stickler1615

peace-wright1718

peacemonger1808

honest broker1878

society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > [noun] > settling quarrels or disputes > arbitration > arbitrator

noumperec1350

umpire?c1400

arbitrator1426

mid-man1459

wardsman1482

appointer1523

daysman1530

arbiter1548

moderator1556

oddsman1571

compromitter1579

compromiser1598

compromittee1602

umpirer1650

goodman1836

honest broker1878

leopard-skin chief1933

leopard-skin priest1951

1878 tr. O. von Bismarck in Standard 20 Feb. 5/6 To my mind, it is rather the mediation of an honourable broker, who really wishes to carry on business.]

1878 Times 27 Mar. 11/1 Prince Bismarck does not seem particularly disposed to act the ‘honest broker’ in a business which he is afraid will either bring on a split or else terminate in a hollow compromise.

1938 W. N. Medlicott Congr. of Berlin & After 135 The publication of the terms of the Austro-German agreement abrogating Article V of the treaty of Prague suggested that the honest broker had taken a bribe or reward from Austria.

1970 Times 31 Mar. (Australian Suppl.) p. ii/3 Australia acted the comparatively successful honest broker between the United States and the kingdom of Cambodia.

1992 New Statesman & Society 4 Dec. 7/2 John Denham..was brought in to act as honest broker, writing an appendix to the pamphlet that takes note of the ‘lively debate’ within the Tribune Group.

2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Sept. 8/4 In her own enlightened self-interest, Germany should play the role of honest broker between Paris and London.

honest Indian n. colloquial (originally U.S.; now dated and offensive) = honest Injun n.

ΚΠ

1854 Pioneer (Calif.) Jan. 25 If you tell..[a person from Rich Bar] anything which he doubts, instead of simply asking you if it is true, he will invariably cock his head interrogatively, and..address you with the solemn adjuration, ‘Honest Indian?’

1904 B. A. Clarck Minnows & Tritons i. 40 ‘I suppose you wouldn't say “Honest Indian” about that?’ said Margaret wistfully. ‘“Honest Indian”!’ said Claude stoutly.

1991 J. O'Connor Cowboys & Indians (1992) 233 ‘Jesus,’ said Eddie..‘Everyone tells me this crap, and I don't know why.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘Honest Indian?’ she asked. ‘Really and truly,’ chortled Eddie.

honest Injun n. colloquial (originally U.S.; now dated and offensive) used as an interjection to assert, or interrogatively as an appeal to, one's truthfulness, honour, or sincerity; cf. honour bright at honour n. Phrases 9; also as adv., and (occasionally) as adj.; cf. slightly earlier honest Indian n.

ΚΠ

1857 Porter's Spirit of Times 23 May 182/3 Jersey, honest injun. Did you really kill those birds?

1858 Trinity Jrnl. (Weaverville, Calif.) 3 Apr. We did'nt say hang, once; honest Injun. We appeal to posterity.

1875 B. W. Howard One Summer x. 96 Do yer ask honest Injun, no cheatin' nor nothin'?

1885 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 9 July 4/5 You never catch the North Texan ..deviating one single jot from the strict old George Washington honest Injun truth.

1896 G. B. Shaw Let. 8 Sept. in E. Terry & G. B. Shaw Corr. (1931) 54 A thing she would never have done if she had not forgiven him quite thoroughly—honest Injun.

1905 Play Pictorial No. 40. 24/1 I'm bound to tell yer the honest Injun truth.

1950 L. A. G. Strong Which I Never i. 12 ‘You've invented him.’ ‘Which I never, sir...’ ‘Honest Injun?’

2015 A. Titley tr. M. Ó Cadhain Dirty Dust i. 20 I don't get it, Margaret. Honest Injun, I just don't get it.

Honest John n. (a) colloquial (also with lower-case initial in the first element) a truthful, trustworthy, or sincere man; (b) a type of surface-to-surface ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear warhead (now historical).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [noun] > sincere person

Honest John1855

straight goods1892

pure1924

straight arrow1969

society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > [noun] > person or thing > person

truelOE

true mana1225

trusty1570

warrant1832

sea-green incorruptible1837

Honest John1855

Boy Scout1918

straight arrow1969

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > guided or ballistic missile > [noun] > types of

loon1947

seeker1949

Honest John1952

Nike1952

heat-seeker1956

anti-ballistic missile1957

Polaris1957

Pershing1958

SAM1958

cruise missile1959

sea-cat1959

minuteman1961

ABM1963

lance1964

Exocet1970

trident1972

MX missile1973

stinger1975

cruise1976

tomahawk1976

silo buster1977

Euromissile1979

Brilliant Pebbles1988

1855 Henry's Birthday 99 ‘An honest John!’ said they. ‘Give us more. They are so good we want two a-piece.’

1902 E. R. Eastman Poems i. ix. 19 His cook, an honest John of Schwabian type, Refused to sell stale bread and stringy meat.

1952 Corpus Christi (Texas) Times 4 Jan. 4/3 Some day the missile men..may send..an ‘Honest John’ or one of the other missiles being developed,..with a loaded warhead directed at enemy bombers.

1994 P. Sleem Second Time Around xx. 290 Galleria didn't think you'd take the money. He thought you were too much of an Honest John.

2010 T. G. Wicks Huntsville Air & Space 9 Earlier in the year [sc. 1960], a Hawk missile had shot down an Honest John.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	honest
释义	honestadj.adv. Brit. /ˈɒnᵻst/, U.S. /ˈɑnəst/ Forms: Middle English oneste, Middle English–1500s honeste, Middle English–1600s honnest, Middle English–1600s onest, Middle English– honest, 1500s–1600s honist. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French honest. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman honest, onest, Anglo-Norman and Middle French honneste, honeste (French honnête ) honourable, virtuous, just, frank, commendable, appropriate, suitable, excellent, fine, estimable, conforming to the rules of polite society (from 11th cent. in Old French), courteous, civil, decent, respectable, (of a woman) irreproachable in conduct, chaste (13th cent.) < classical Latin honestus regarded with honour or respect, honourable, of high rank, worthy of respect, decent, fine, handsome < honōs , honor honour n. + -tus, suffix forming adjectives. Compare Catalan honest (14th cent.), Spanish honesto (13th cent.), Portuguese honesto (13th cent.), Italian onesto (13th cent.).In later use in French (from at least the late 17th cent.) also in uses indicating a more qualified evaluation of things or actions, ‘acceptable’, ‘middling’. In use of behaviour sometimes with the connotation ‘appropriate to a courtier, conforming to expected norms, urbane, showing good manners or social polish’ (compare honnête homme n.). A. adj. 1. Of a thing, condition, action, etc. †a. Of a feast: magnificent, sumptuous; stately, splendid. Also (of food): fine, delicious. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > meal > feast > [adjective] > sumptuous richc1300 honestc1330 Lucullian1892 Lucullic1904 Lucullan1913 c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 4072 Fourten niȝt Arthour held fest Swiþe noble and swiþe onest. c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 94 (MED) Þe fyge and þe filbert were fode med so fayre..Apples and Almaundus þat honest are of ayre. c1450 (?a1400) T. Chestre Sir Launfal (1930) l. 632 (MED) Fourty dayes leste þe feste, Ryche, ryall, and honeste. †b. Worthy of honour, honourable, commendable; (also) that confers honour, that does a person credit. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > [adjective] > bringing credit or honour (to) honest1340 worshipful1340 honourable?a1400 graceful1595 honorary1606 dignifying1630 creditablea1639 creditable1655 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 222 Þet stat of spoushod is zuo holy and suo honeste. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 780 In honeste wise as longeth to a knyght. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 1^v Alle vertuouse and honest thynges. 1509 Kynge Rycharde Cuer du Lyon (de Worde) sig. E.vi Crystmasse is a tyme full honeste Kynge Rycharde it honoured with grete faste. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome ii. 153 Thare wes na batall mair honest, than this last rehersit. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxiij^v Kyng Henry..founded a solempne schoole at Eton..an honest Colege of sad Priestes, with a greate nombre of children. 1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. xi. 43 That respects onely things delectable and pleasant, this Honest. 1657 O. Cromwell Speech 8 May in Writings & Speeches (1947) (modernized text) IV. 513 The things are very honourable and honest, and the product worthy of a Parliament. 1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Speeches Ajax & Ulysses in Fables 467 Many a manly Wound: All honest, all before. 1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. v. 312 Know, 'tis not honest in my Soul to fear, Nor was Tydides born to tremble here. 1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lxi. 287 An honest zeal in behalf of innocence oppressed by quibble and chicane. c. Not deserving of disgrace or reproach; respectable, decent; (also) seemly, befitting. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [adjective] > specifically of things or actions worthyc1300 honest1340 honourablea1393 laureate1535 reputable1659 creditable1740 defamelessa1814 smutchless1853 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 229 Loke þe uram uoule wordes þet ne byeþ naȝt honeste. ?a1425 (?c1350) Northern Passion (Rawl.) l. 2276 To plant þa wandes in honest place, ffor to be keped honestly, And wirschiped als þai war worthi. a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 60 It were more honest that I shuld have such a wyf, and my felaw to have suche a wyf as I have. 1514 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 52 I will that, the day of my buryall, she maik an honest dynner to my frendes and neybours. 1555 in A. G. Dickens Marian Reaction in Diocese York: Laity (1957) ii. 16 She may contynue & remayne in any honest place withoute the saide house of Mousby. 1633 Earl of Manchester Al Mondo: Contemplatio Mortis (rev. ed.) 35 Honest sepulture is a blessing. 1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 20 Corantos, Sarabands and Jigs, used for honest mirth and delight in Feasts. a1662 T. Craufurd Hist. Univ. Edinb. (1808) 77 In bestowing upon the Colledge an honest residence for the Muses. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ii. 44 To come and take up an honest house, without cross or coin to bless yourself with. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl I. ii. 34 Letting a tribe of shabroons and painted jezebels into their honest house. 1807 Athenæum 1 Sept. 244 He had an honest burial, with a funeral sermon, and other circumstances becoming one of his rank and reputation. 1870 I. N. Harwood Heir Expectant ii. 37 Your presence..would be contamination in any honest dwelling. 1882 Rev. E. P. Rogers 27 To aspire to merit for ourselves, each in his turn, an honest commemoration. 1997 W. Beik Urban Protest in 17th-cent. France vi. 121 Perhaps the use of the cemetery indicated that the victims..deserved an honest burial. †d. With reference to appearance: presentable, decent, respectable; neat, tidy; without blemish. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] faireOE comelyOE winlyOE goodlyOE hendya1250 hendc1275 quaintc1300 seemlyc1305 tidya1325 avenant1340 honestc1384 sightya1387 properc1390 well beseena1393 queema1400 speciousa1400 featousc1400 parisantc1400 rekenc1400 well-favoureda1438 wellc1450 spectable?a1475 delicatec1480 jollya1500 bonny?a1513 snog1513 viewlyc1536 goodlikec1550 sightly1555 sightful1565 beholdinga1586 eyesome?1587 decent1600 vage1604 prospicuous1605 eyely1614 fashionable1630 well-looking1638 softa1643 fineish1647 well-looked1660 of a good (also ugly, etc.) look1700 likely-looked1709 sonsy1720 smiling1725 aspectable1731 smirkya1758 likely-looking1771 respectable1776 magnificent-looking1790 producible1792 presentable1800 good-looking1804 nice-looking1807 bonnyish1855 spick1882 eyeable1887 aegyo2007 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xii. 24 Tho membris that ben vnhonest, han more honeste. Forsoth oure honest [a1425 L.V. oneste; L. honesta] membris of noon han nede. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 6067 A clene lomb þat is honest. 1483 Mirk's Festial (Caxton) sig. cvii Men wold make hem that day shere hem and pollen her heedes and..so make hem honeste ageyn ester day. a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 240 (MED) Fayre thynge and honeste clothynge kyndely delytyth manes herte. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 28 Toures full tore torret aboue..Made all of marbyll..With ymagry full honest openly wroght. ?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. R. iiij He hath created the chin..after so honest a forme, and hath enriched it with a bearde. 2. a. Of a person: (originally) †holding a position of honour; distinguished, noble (obsolete); (hence) held in good esteem; respectable, reputable. Now rare.In later use passing into sense A. 4b. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [adjective] faireOE wortheOE worthlyeOE worthfulOE menskful?c1225 toldc1275 digne1297 of price?a1300 worshiply1340 worthya1350 menska1375 thriftyc1374 worshipfula1375 worthilya1375 honesta1382 honourablec1384 unshamedc1384 sada1387 of reputationc1390 well-nameda1393 reverent1398 worthy (worshipful, wise) in wanea1400 celebrable?c1400 honouredc1400 worshipablec1425 substantialc1449 undefameda1450 unreviled?1457 honorousa1500 reputed?1532 well-thought-ona1533 well-spoken1539 credible1543 undespised?1548 imitable1550 famous1555 undistained1565 undefame1578 untarred1579 well-reputed1583 unsoiledc1592 dishonourless1595 well-deemed1595 nameworthy1598 regardful1600 indisgraced1606 credenta1616 undishonoureda1616 unscandalized1618 unscandalous1618 unslandered1622 untainted1627 dignousa1636 undisparaged1636 considerable1641 unbranded1641 glorifiable1651 reputable1671 unsullied1743 unstigmatized1778 undisgraced1812 unstained1863 well-thought-of1865 uncompromised1882 scandal-proof1904 cred1987 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xiii. 2 Berthen vp on hym he taketh, that comuneth to the honestere [a1425 L.V. a more onest man; L. honestiori] than hymself. c1390 (c1300) MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 256 A wydewe..com þis Condulmasse feste, And heo wolde han, as wyf honeste, Hire Masse. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 158 (MED) Olympyas..Wolde make a riche fest Of kniȝttes and lefdyes honest. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Ecclus. xi. 23 It is esy in the iȝen of God, sudeynli to make onest [E.V. to honesten; L. honestare] a pore man. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 25 A woman..Onest & abill & Ecuba she hight. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xlvj^v The honest and sustanciall persons arrested or indited. 1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iv. 111 Houses, wherein liue the honester sort of people, as Farmers in England. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant iii. 57 He told me That that Country is pleasant enough, and full of good honest People. 1692 London Gaz. No. 2735/4 The Purchaser to take 2 honest Men, and the Seller 2 more, for all such Goods. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 112. ⁋5 Young Gentlemen, descended of honest Parents. 1796 A. Dirom Inq. into Corn Laws & Corn Trade Great Brit. ii. 69 Honest and substantial persons.., being neither merchants nor factors for the importing of corn. 1828 Casket May 201/2 All I desire is, that my son-in-law should be a man of probity, and descended from an honest family. 1854 J. E. Cooke Leather Stocking & Silk xxxii. 135 It is neither graceful or becoming for one so well descended as yourself, to thus trifle with the traditions of an honest family. 1995 A. Thomas Labyrinth of Word vii. 107 Ludvik encounters..an apparently respectable bourgeois posing as a dandy. It turns out that Karel is from honest farming stock in Bohemia. b. As a general epithet of appreciation or praise for a person, esp. as used in a patronizing way to or of an inferior. Frequently as a form of address, often with my. Cf. good adj. 4c. Now somewhat rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [adjective] > specifically of person goodlyOE thriftyc1374 duec1449 prettya1450 honest1551 well-qualitied1567 tight1601 of sort1606 reg'lar1814 bricky1864 sublimish1864 1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Uij Suche a one is a very honest man, For I had good cheare at his house. 1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 309 Honest man, is this the way to Bolonia? 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. i. 176 Your name honest gentleman? View more context for this quotation 1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 16 These were for laying Honest David by, On Principles of pure good Husbandry. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 45 Let Mr. Bickerstaff alone (says one of the Honest Fellows), when he's in a good Humour, he's as good Company as any Man in England. 1720 W. Congreve Impossible Thing 16 The Clown..louder cry'd, Ho! honest Friend. 1755 T. Smollett tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. iv. xiv. 425 Truce with your compliments and skink away, honest Tosilos. 1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) I. (at cited word) A Northern baronet..chairman of quarter sessions, was accustomed, when he sentenced a prisoner, to begin, ‘Now, my honest man, you have been convicted of felony’. 1855 W. Collins in Househ. Words 31 356/2 His amiable sister—who is not to be passed over because you don't mention her, my honest man!—lives within ten minutes' walk of my house. 1889 R. Clynton Life Celebrated Buccaneer xxxvii. 229 Take care, my honest fellow, that designing people neither make a tool nor a fool of you. 1916 P. G. Wodehouse Piccadilly Jim xiv. 218 When he appears, I will say ‘Ah, Skinner! Honest fellow!’ or words to that effect. 1997 J. R. Russell tr. J. Kuhnau Musical Charlatan xv. 41 Caraffa..causes our musici to..trade their sensible human voices for the voice of a senseless beast. What's to be done for these honest gentlemen? 3. †a. Of a person or society: of good moral character; virtuous, upright. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > [adjective] goodeOE dowingc1175 well-theweda1200 thewful?c1225 goodfulc1275 flourisheda1375 virtuousc1390 honesta1393 fine?a1400 theweda1400 well-manneredc1400 well-conditioneda1425 moralc1443 mannerlya1500 virtuala1500 graceful1611 well-moralized1624 well-principled1635 morate1652 unlicentious1737 respectable1750 nice1799 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 1516 So scholde he be the more honeste To whom god yaf so gret a yifte. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2024 A King Wys and honeste in alle thing. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 18 He is so clene in his corte, þe Kyng þat al weldez, And honeste in his housholde. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings i. 52 Yf he wil be an honest man, there shall not one heer fall from him vpon the earth. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xxii. 28 Beyng a good Pilot and a very honest man. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 393 For the credit of this honest and loyall..societie. 1673 W. Cave Primitive Christianity i. i. 10 The honester and severer Romans were ashamed on 't. 1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane Ded. It were to be wish'd..that the World were honest to such a degree, and that there were not that scandalous defect of common morality. b. Esp. of a woman: virtuous as regards sexual morality, chaste; virginal. archaic and rare after early 18th cent. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > purity > chastity > [adjective] > chaste > of women honesta1400 virtuousa1600 zoned1726 straight1893 tight-assed1903 a1400 Cato's Distichs (Fairf.) l. 57 in R. Morris Cursor Mundi (1878) III. App. iv. 1670 Fle to take wife..bot ho be honest..ne halde hir for na druri. if ho be vnchest. 1428 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 79 The mariage of onest and poure maidens. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Esdras xvi. 49 Like as an whore enuyeth an honest woman. a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 95 Wiues may be merry, and yet honest too. View more context for this quotation 1669 T. Shadwell Royal Shepherdess i. i. 12 You marry'd me to keep me honest, did you? 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 118. ⁋2 The Maid is honest, and the Man dares not be otherwise. 1899 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Oct. 797/2 An Alsacian spy..seduced an honest girl, and then..shot her, and kidnapped her child. 2002 Ethnologia Europaea 32 23/2 Although a seduced girl had her honour restored by the award of satisfaction,..a woman could not regain the..reputation she had enjoyed as an honest maid. 4. a. Of an action, feeling, etc.: done with or expressive of truthfulness, fairness, or integrity of character or intention; free from deceit; genuine, sincere. Also: done with good intentions even if unsuccessful or misguided. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > of statement: agreeing with reality soothlyc888 soothfastc950 truea1250 very1303 strait1340 honesta1400 soothfulc1400 precisec1443 veritable1474 just1490 perfect1523 faithful1529 sincere1555 unmangled1557 truthful?1567 neat1571 oraculous1612 punctual1620 oracular1631 unvamped1639 strict1645 unembroidered1649 ungarbled1721 unexaggerated1770 veracious1777 unfictitious1835 unexaggeratinga1854 uncooked1860 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adjective] > without deception unfeignedc1374 honesta1400 rekenc1400 unfeigningc1400 entirec1430 sincere1539 pretenced1547 fraudless1580 uncoloured1585 unflatteringa1586 upright1587 undissembling1613 deceitless1628 single-hearted1804 undelusive1817 single-minded1836 undeceptive1846 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 22914 Sant gregor gaf ansuer honest. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 4008 He ne dude no tresoun. His dede ne was bot honest, For he dude his lordes hest. 1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 189 Leuefull Company and Honest Besynes. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 382 Their honest and reasonable excuses could not be heard. 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 268 A quiet harvest that might arise out of their own honest labour. 1658 J. Bramhall Consecration Protestant Bishops Justified x. 218 It is none of the honestest Pleas, Negare factum, to deny such publick Acts as these. a1695 J. Scott Pract. Disc. (1697) I. xi. 464 For a Man to..mask his real Intentions with contrary Appearances, is a very uneasie Way of living; for there is twice the Difficulty in every Thing that he aims and drives at, as there is in an honest and above-board, Procedure. a1732 J. Gay Fables (1738) II. vi. 48 Unbrib'd, unaw'd, he dares impart The honest dictates of his heart. 1790 F. Burney Diary July (1842) V. 145 He came..with an honest, straightforward security of the welcome he really found. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lii. 465 The very best and honestest feelings of the man came out in these artless outpourings of paternal feeling. 1883 Law Times 20 Oct. 408/1 The object of a bankruptcy law..should be the economical and honest distribution of a bankrupt's estate. 1919 H. Walpole Secret City iii. xv. 435 No young man likes to be discovered hidden behind a coat-rack, however honest his original intentions! 1942 ‘H. H. Holmes’ Rocket to Morgue 51 They frequently made honest attempts at forecasting scientific developments. 1984 D. Iverson & R. Grant Team Ministry v. vi. 67 They sent the money to my home, and through an honest mistake..it was inadvertently placed in my personal bank account. 2001 R. Dawkins in Devil's Chaplain (2003) iv. 179 To be fair, many pushers of dishonest remedies are motivated by an honest desire to help. b. Of a person: that acts fairly and with integrity; that is not disposed to lie, cheat, or steal; truthful; trustworthy; sincere. ΘΚΠ society > law > rule of law > [adjective] > law-abiding > not transgressing the law honestc1540 unoffending1569 unfraudulent1590 innocent1811 law-abiding1839 uncriminal1864 infelonious1876 c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 2^v Ovyd and othir þat onest were ay..Thes dampnet his dedys. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. i. 42 He, which plainly telleth the trueth, sheweth himself to be an honest man. a1600 Doctrynall Good Servauntes in E. F. Rimbault Anc. Poet. Tracts 16th Cent. (1842) 8 Ye seruauntes..Be ye honest and dylygent. 1674 D. Brevint Saul & Samuel 282 The honestest Monks we know are sometimes tempted to say strange things. 1734 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. IV 238 An honest man's the noblest Work of God. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 189. ⁋12 She..was at last convinced that she had been flattered, and that her glass was honester than her maid. 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsemanship iv. 18 A Dealer in Moorfields (who..is no honester than he ought to be). 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 177 Though often misled by prejudice and passion, he was emphatically an honest man. 1897 W. Raleigh Style 125 The pillory and the stocks are hardly educational agents, but they make it easier for honest men to enjoy their own. 1907 E. von Arnim Fräulein Schmidt xiv. 55 I tell you I am incurably honest. I cannot bear to lie. 1956 G. Metalious Peyton Place iii. viii. 324 Lucas was always the crooked one in that family. Nellie..was honest as the day is long. 1971 S. Howatch Penmarric (1972) iv. i. 370 She was a good, decent, honest person whom my father had dragged through the mud. 2011 New Yorker 11 July 38/1 And the culture of evasion has negative consequences... It means that the revenue burden falls too heavily on honest taxpayers. c. attributive. Of money, gain, etc.: acquired without cheating or stealing; legitimate; legally or fairly earned, esp. through hard work. ΘΚΠ society > law > rule of law > [adjective] > in accordance with the law > specifically of money, gain, etc. honest1559 1559 W. Bavand tr. J. Ferrarius Common Weale ix. f. 198^v The vsurer of honest gaine. 1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer iii. f. 89^v An honest wealth have won thee..whereby they sought to have undone thee. 1647 S. Birckbek Cordiall for Heart-qualme ii. 56 Honest earnings shall furnish our Table with all. 1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 131. ⁋10 To..take to some honest Livelihood without Loss of Time. 1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer iv. 147 Each seeks in the prosecution of his lawful business that honest gain which supports them. 1825 L. L. Cameron Houlston Tracts I. 10 (title) An honest penny is worth a silver shilling. 1881 Burlington (Iowa) Daily Hawk-eye 20 Mar. To engage in sawing wood,..or anything else that would gain for them an honest living. 1904 Reader June 5/1 Presidio..had enough skill in several occupations to earn honest wages, but seemed unable to forego the pleasure of exercising his wit in confidence games and sneak-thievery. 1950 J. Lait & L. Mortimer Chicago Confidential ii. xxiv. 210 His honest millions were not enough to take her away from..her underworld associations. 2005 Nelson (N.Z.) Mail (Nexis) 18 June (Features section) 16 He earns an honest living as a Takaka bone carver. d. Free from guile or dissimulation; ingenuous, innocent; candid, straightforward; (in later use esp. of the face) genuinely reflecting a person's character, open, frank.In later use of people, often merging with sense A. 4b. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adjective] aefauldOE trueOE true as steela1300 throlya1375 entirec1380 faithfula1382 entirelyc1400 single1519 sincere1533 sincere1539 simple-minded1556 Dunstable?1565 truthful?1567 single-hearted1574 single-minded1577 sound1580 downright1584 unaffected1592 real1597 plain-hearted1601 unartificial1603 free1619 honest1634 fair and square1636 round-dealing1642 wholehearted1657 down flata1663 well-designing1670 heart-whole1684 single-eyed1705 unsanctimoniousa1797 natural1825 bona fide1827 unfallacious1827 jannock1828 forthcoming1835 up and down1836 bonified1840 forthgoing1851 unhypocritical1854 forthright1855 upstanding1863 on the level1872 genuine1890 for real1954 upfront1967 1634 J. Ford Chron. Hist. Perkin Warbeck ii. sig. C4 Blesse the young man, our Nation would be laughd at For honest soules through Christendome. 1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 20 I am a doating honest Slave. 1701 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother i. i. 171 Dull heavy things! Whom Nature has left honest In meer frugality. 1778 Ann. Reg. 1777 Characters 43/1 A short thick-set man, with a very honest ingenuous countenance. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 437 The honest monk was so illiterate that he did not know what he ought to say on an occasion of such importance. 1866 W. D. Howells Venetian Life ii. 23 He beheld the honest swindling countenance of a hotel portier. 1927 Boys' Life Jan. 29/1 He was..a big strapping fellow with clear eyes, and an eager, honest face. 1983 H. Blamires Guide 20th Cent. Lit. in Eng. 43 The honest ingenuous comic who puts his foot in it and is trapped into matrimony by a glamorous journalist. 2005 A. Sabol Elem., my Dear 37 A delighted smile spread over his honest features. e. In predicative use. Truthful or candid in regard to a particular matter; disposed to admit the truth of something (frequently something unpalatable). Earliest in to be honest at Phrases 2. ΚΠ 1743 H. Fielding Journey from this World i. 19 in Misc. II. 153 A very poor and numerous Family, which, to be honest with you, procured its Livelihood by Begging. 1772 P. H. Treyssac de Vergy Lovers II. xl. 210 You have been very plain with Lady B— L—; be as honest with me. 1796 S. H. Burney Clarentine III. xviii. 32 I thought it best to be honest with him at once, and therefore answered very calmly. 1846 Evergreen Apr. 126/1 The reader will remember that a man always speaks of his own efforts as ‘humble’, when he entertains a high opinion of them. We may as well be honest about it. 1865 Bible Christian Mag. May 204 Uncle Peter, come now, be honest about the matter; are you a converted man? 1914 R. Blunt In Cheyne Walk & Thereabout iv. 138 Our own doctor, if he dare be honest, will tell us how often he prescribes some merely innocuous mixture. 1928 P. Grainger Let. 31 Jan. in All-round Man (1994) 88 You blame yrself for not being honest with me last summer. 1995 Independent on Sunday 27 Aug. (Real Lives section) 11/1 If we are honest, we know we're buying a dream. 2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Aug. 10/4 She is balanced and honest about treatments, acknowledging that there is no cure. 5. attributive. Of a thing: not appearing to be or presented as other than it actually is; genuine, unadulterated; (later chiefly) unsophisticated, unpretentious. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > in its natural state, unsophisticated purec1300 right1466 sincere1557 in grain?1577 genuine1607 unsophisticate1607 honesta1616 undistracted1656 unsophisticated1664 inartful1714 unabsurd1744 in the raw1785 a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 111 Behold what honest cloathes you send forth to bleaching. View more context for this quotation 1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière New Voy. Northern Countries 31 We were glad to betake ourselves to the provisions we had brought..which was honest Bisket and salt Beef. 1713 J. Addison Tryal Count Tariff 3 Every thing he wore was substantial honest, home-spun Ware. 1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 805 He may wrap himself in honest rags At his last gasp. 1812 G. Crabbe Tales xiv. 253 His Conscience never checks him when he swears The fat he sells is honest fat of bears. 1884 F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads I. ii. xxxvii. 322/2 Bringing some honest bread and wine with her. 1935 Rotarian Mar. 55/2 Showy pretense must be avoided, such as concrete blocks masquerading as honest stone. a1951 H. C. Bosman in L. Abrahams Unto Dust (1963) 135 I could sit on my stoep and fill my pipe with honest Magaliesberg tobacco. 1994 Best 2 June 25/5 They know they'll get honest food cooked to as near perfection as I can. 2007 Metro (Toronto) 14 Feb. 26/2 A flawless balance of credible, non-pretentious, honest music. B. adv. 1. In an honest manner; by honest means; honestly. In later use regional and nonstandard. Now chiefly U.S. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb] without(en, but leasec888 soothfastlya890 soothfasta1300 aefauldly1472 truthly1490 gospelly1596 sincerely1597 honest1654 sacredly1706 rightly1786 veraciously1807 truthfully1828 veridically1832 unfallaciously1852 honest-like1899 salva veritate1930 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adverb] utterly?c1225 entirelya1340 faithlyc1350 without (but) feigningc1380 clearly1389 whollyc1390 unfeigninglyc1400 entirec1430 unfeigneda1469 without coloura1513 honestly1526 singly1526 unfeignedly1526 uncolourably1541 bona fide1542 frankly?1553 sincerely1560 squarely1564 uprightly1565 square1577 single-mindedly1579 undissemblinglyc1585 above board1599 fair and square1604 downright1607 downrightly1632 really1641 uncasuistly1649 honest1654 up tro1654 plain-heartedly1675 unaffectedly1677 straightforwardly1839 wholeheartedly1845 unfallaciously1852 up and down1854 single-heartedly1857 unflatteringly1874 uncynically1895 square on1963 1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. i. 176 And why slay him, if that he honest meant? 1671 F. Philipps Regale Necessarium 330 Wares and Commodities, honester made. ?1790 Busy Bee II. 144 And ven I can't sheat, I'sh deal honest, Ish swear. 1810 Trial between W. Leworthy & Globe Insurance Co. 48 He always behaved very honest to me. 1898 Smith Coll. Monthly Apr. 323 I came by my money honest and I've worked hard. 1902 Emporia (Kansas) Weekly Gaz. 27 Feb. The boys acted honest about the matter and really won the sympathy of the policemen. 1979 Foxfire 5 31 You better get it [sc. money] honest. If you're a card player, get it that way. 2011 H. Dimon Victoria's got Secret viii. 65 He worked honest and hard. 2. colloquial (originally U.S.). Used to emphasize, or persuade a person of the truth of, a statement. Cf. honestly adv. 4a. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb] > as emphasis God (it) wot?c1225 goddot?a1289 sooth to sayc1330 truth (also sooth) to tella1375 honestly1819 honest Indian1854 truthfully1854 honest Injun1857 on the level1872 straight1874 honest1876 square dinkum1888 no kidding1901 straight-up1963 1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer ix. 91 Tell me, Joe,—honest, now, old feller—did I do it? 1901 S. Merwin & H. K. Webster Calumet ‘K’ viii. 160 Honest, Hilda, I don't see how he does it. 1928 F. B. Young My Brother Jonathan ii. iv If it weren't for the life at Prince's I don't think I could stick it..honest! 1972 ‘J. Bonett’ & ‘E. Bonett’ No Time to Kill viii. 103 Of course I don't know a thing, but, honest, I can't see anyone here doing these people in. 2007 J. Leeds Taproom Tales x. 184 I know nothing about it, honest Guv. Phrases P1. to make (a woman) an honest woman, to make an honest woman of (a woman): to marry (a woman) with whom one has had sexual relations, or who is otherwise not considered to be respectable in terms of accepted standards of sexual morality; (later humorously without connotations of restoring respectability) to marry (a woman). Later occasionally also used of a man. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)] > a woman weda1000 brideOE spousec1300 wed to warisonc1330 to take to matrimonyc1400 wivec1425 to make (a woman) an honest woman1562 society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > celebrate (a marriage) [verb (transitive)] > marry after seduction to make an honest woman of (a woman)1562 honest1611 honestifya1652 1562 in D. H. Fleming Reg. Christian Congregation St. Andrews (1889) I. 145 Sche refused otherwayis to consent, except he wald mak hyr ane honest woman. 1629 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. (ed. 5) xiv. sig. D8 The best worke he does is his marrying, for it makes an honest woman. 1664 J. Wilson Cheats iii. iii. 38 Some or other should marrie her up, and make an honest woman of her. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. viii. 260 Miss Nancy was, in vulgar Language, soon made an honest Woman. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 211 She was now made an honest woman of. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ix, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 201 Effie was married—made, according to the common phrase, an honest woman. 1887 M. E. Braddon Like & Unlike III. v. 64 I wish he had been free to make your sister an honest woman. 1920 D. Goldring Fight for Freedom iii. 51 She will never consent to be made an honest woman of—just like a housemaid who has got into trouble. 1968 R. Harris Nice Girl's Story v. 38 When are you going to be made an honest woman? 1990 J. Deveraux Mountain Laurel xiv. 248 I guess you'll make an honest man out of me, won't you? You weren't taking advantage of me in the last few days? 2002 G. Hinton Desperate Hearts xi. 115 ‘Sam and I were married last year.’ Gloria..smiled. ‘Well I'm glad he made an honest woman of you.’ P2. to be honest: used as sentence adverbial to convey one's willingness to be candid or truthful: speaking frankly. In recent use frequently as an emphasizer. Frequently with modifying adverb as to be quite honest, to be perfectly honest, etc. ΚΠ 1743 [see sense A. 4e]. 1750 L. Briant Some Friendly Remarks Serm. preach'd Braintree 25 And then again (to be honest with you) I confess I have not sometimes been without my Doubts whether or no the Language in which Calvin wrote might not a little startle you. 1785 W. Hutton Bran New Wark 6 Inkhorn words, to be honest, we knaw lile abaut. 1853 C. Dickens Bleak House li. 488 Sir,..to be honest with you (honesty being my golden rule, whether I gain by it or lose, and I find that I generally lose), money is the word. 1874 Harper's Mag. Nov. 852/1 Besides, to be quite honest, I was afraid the marchese, who was as lithe and agile as a tiger, would be more likely to kill Sebastiano. 1894 H. R. Chamberlain 6000 Tons of Gold xiii. 286 To be absolutely honest, I cannot plead complete ignorance of the dangers which I risked. 1942 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 2 Apr. 10/1 To be honest, I will admit that I am headstrong and do not like to be bossed. 1999 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 14 May 17 To be perfectly honest neither of those semi-finals was too hard. 2011 A. Fitzpatrick Strictly Legal 124 I never asked for any details to be honest. P3. colloquial (originally U.S.). honest to God (also honest to goodness, etc.). a. Used, frequently parenthetically, to emphasize the truthfulness or sincerity of a statement: genuinely, really. Cf. honestly adv. 4a. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adverb] > truly, genuinely trulyc1225 truea1400 veritably1481 veritable1490 authentically1593 indeeda1616 genuinely1640 real1645 unpretendingly1701 honest to God1892 1892 Christian Union (N.Y.) 21 May 990/1 ‘Honest to the Lord!’ burst out Mary Ann, ‘this do beat all!’ 1895 Scribner's Mag. Feb. 197/2 There ain't no call for you to believe what I say, but honest to God, this is only the second job o' this kind I ever was in. 1914 ‘B. M. Bower’ Flying U Ranch 192 Honest to grandma, a little gore would look better to me now than a Dutch picnic. 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist v. 212 Oh, honest to God, if the crook of it caught him that time he was done for. 1929 W. H. Thomson That Terrier ‘Brick’ xiii. 69 Honest-to-goodness, I didn't know that I was doing anything wrong. 1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer v. 80 We honest to God really dislike each other. 1992 I. Pattison More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts 134 Honest to Christ, I've got my name doon for a double hip replacement, know what I'm saying? 2001 Mod. Maturity Nov. 87/1 Sometimes I look out there and, honest to Pete, I see those planes coming in. 2006 G. Malkani Londonstani ii. 18 You could tell if the people at home were friendly if the car parked in the driveway was a car with a friendly face. Honest to God, I in't jokin. b. In attributive use (usually hyphenated): genuine; sincere; unaffected, down-to-earth. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > genuine, real soothc888 soothlyc888 soothfastc1175 germanec1384 truea1398 sickera1400 upright?a1500 uncounterfeita1542 righteous1543 legitimate1551 truepennya1556 arrant1570 uncounterfeited1571 real1573 current1578 genuinal1599 unforged1610 unpretended1611 legitime1614 unabusinga1628 Lubish1632 genuine1639 undissembled1651 undissimulate1652 ingenuine1661 infallacious1677 real live1684 unfalsified1688 unmistaken1694 pukka1776 undissimulated1776 unassumed1818 uncynical1824 Simon Pure1834 sure-enough1837 unsimulated1840 straight-out1848 true blue1852 veritable1862 really (and) truly1864 authentic1868 true-metal1868 kosher1896 twenty-four carat1900 honest to goodness1905 echt1916 dinky-di1918 McCoy1928 twenty-two carat1962 right1969 1905 Lock Haven (Pa.) Express 23 Aug. (advt.) Rose cream. An ‘honest-to-goodness’, really meritorious preparation which when applied to the face relieves the smarting of sunburn. 1913 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel 24 Apr. 2/5 He is a regular honest-to-God man. 1937 J. B. Priestley Two Time Plays p. xi It was not until I substituted for him an honest-to-goodness exiled German professor that the play began to look right. 1969 P. Stursberg Those were Days xx. 69 There was nothing wrong with good honest-to-gosh partisanship,..you knew where a paper stood then. 1985 R. Silverberg Tom O'Bedlam (1986) iii. 64 A madhouse? Really? An honest-to-Christ nuthatch? 2012 M. R. Thompson I've had it up to here with Teenagers 119 When a mom or sister gets an honest-to-God compliment from a son or brother in the household, it's the real deal. P4. a. Chiefly Sport (originally U.S.). to keep (a person) honest: to ensure that (an opponent) does not gain an unfair or unearned advantage; to keep (an opponent) guessing as to one's tactics or approach. ΚΠ 1950 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 28 Sept. 13/5 In between times he throws an occasional fast ball ‘to keep the hitters honest’ and a few curves. 1988 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 22 Aug. He was kept honest by the hard-pressing Graham Stockley in his three litre Porsche RSR who finished second in both heats. 2005 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 19 Nov. (Sport section) 5 It's often necessary to play weak starting hands from time to time to mix things up and to keep your opponents honest. b. Australian. to keep the bastards honest: to ensure that politicians behave fairly and openly, and are accountable for their actions.Originally used as a slogan by Don Chipp (1925–2006), leader of the Australian Democrats, with allusion to the party's aim to hold the balance of power in the Australian Senate. ΚΠ 1980 Canberra Times 9 Oct. 2 ‘Keep the bastards honest’ is a good catch cry. So is participatory democracy, which is another Australian Democrat cry. 2017 S. Burnett Times & Rural Weekly (Queensland) (Nexis) 8 Sept. 40 Let's make all seats marginal. We can't keep the bastards honest, so let's make them nervous. Compounds C1. Forming (chiefly parasynthetic) adjectives and related nouns, as honest-hearted, honest-looking, honest-minded, honest-natured, etc. ΚΠ 1565 L. Evans Brieue Admon. sig. Aiii^v To move and bring anye honest harted man, to abhorre and myslyke all your licencious, lewde, and ouerstreached learning. 1583 G. Peckham True Rep. Newfound Landes v. sig. E.iv^v Worshipful, honest minded, & wel disposed Marchants. a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) v. i. 84 My honest Natur'd friends. View more context for this quotation a1629 E. Sandys Europæ Specvlvm (1632) 206 An honest-hearted [earlier honest heart] desire, but no probable dessein. 1707 S. Centlivre Platonick Lady v. 63 Oh unparrallel'd Confidence, how cam'st thou by that honest looking form, hast thou not a Cloven Foot? a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 28 A chearful honest-hearted clown. 1830 Imperial Mag. Nov. 1071/1 Emulsion of almonds, by means of which..water may be changed into fair and honest-seeming milk. 1856 Peterson's Mag. Mar. 229/2 Rose, with her honest-eyed farmer, settled down in the dear old homestead. 1895 J. Smith Perm. Message Exod. xix. 304 Jethro brings in his honest-heartedness. 1912 Outlook 19 Oct. 367/1 The heroine..is..a warm-hearted, honest-minded, and thoroughly independent woman. 1928 Rotarian Jan. 7/1 Honest-acting good fellowship. 1962 L. Swortzell Tom Taylor's Our Amer. Cousin ii. 73 Rough-spun, honest-hearted Asa Trenchard. 1985 B. Small This Heart of Mine iii. 94 They had no intention of replacing an honest-born English queen with a Spanish infanta. 2010 D. West Project Sponsorship ii. vi. 66 You decide that I'm an honest-looking chap, not half as seedy as you first thought. †C2. poetic. In combination with other adjectives, with the sense ‘honest and ——’. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1592 R. Greene Sc. Hist. Iames IV (1598) ii. sig. D^v Yet would I (might I chuse) be honest poore. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. iv. 46 As I haue euer found thee honest true. View more context for this quotation C3. honest broker n. a person or nation acting as a diplomatic mediator between opposing nations, states, etc.; also in extended use.Originally with reference to or as an epithet of Bismarck. [After German ehrlicher Makler, originally translated as ‘honourable broker’ (see quot. 1878¹), used in a speech by Otto von Bismarck to the Reichstag on 19th February 1878, with reference to the role of Germany as mediator between Russia and the Ottoman Empire in a proposed conference to bring about a peaceful end to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–8).] ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > peace > pacification > [noun] > peacemaker peacemaker?a1425 make-peacea1513 pacifier1533 compounder1539 pacificator1539 truce-maker1552 ground-layer1603 stickler1615 peace-wright1718 peacemonger1808 honest broker1878 society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > [noun] > settling quarrels or disputes > arbitration > arbitrator noumperec1350 umpire?c1400 arbitrator1426 mid-man1459 wardsman1482 appointer1523 daysman1530 arbiter1548 moderator1556 oddsman1571 compromitter1579 compromiser1598 compromittee1602 umpirer1650 goodman1836 honest broker1878 leopard-skin chief1933 leopard-skin priest1951 1878 tr. O. von Bismarck in Standard 20 Feb. 5/6 To my mind, it is rather the mediation of an honourable broker, who really wishes to carry on business.] 1878 Times 27 Mar. 11/1 Prince Bismarck does not seem particularly disposed to act the ‘honest broker’ in a business which he is afraid will either bring on a split or else terminate in a hollow compromise. 1938 W. N. Medlicott Congr. of Berlin & After 135 The publication of the terms of the Austro-German agreement abrogating Article V of the treaty of Prague suggested that the honest broker had taken a bribe or reward from Austria. 1970 Times 31 Mar. (Australian Suppl.) p. ii/3 Australia acted the comparatively successful honest broker between the United States and the kingdom of Cambodia. 1992 New Statesman & Society 4 Dec. 7/2 John Denham..was brought in to act as honest broker, writing an appendix to the pamphlet that takes note of the ‘lively debate’ within the Tribune Group. 2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Sept. 8/4 In her own enlightened self-interest, Germany should play the role of honest broker between Paris and London. honest Indian n. colloquial (originally U.S.; now dated and offensive) = honest Injun n. ΚΠ 1854 Pioneer (Calif.) Jan. 25 If you tell..[a person from Rich Bar] anything which he doubts, instead of simply asking you if it is true, he will invariably cock his head interrogatively, and..address you with the solemn adjuration, ‘Honest Indian?’ 1904 B. A. Clarck Minnows & Tritons i. 40 ‘I suppose you wouldn't say “Honest Indian” about that?’ said Margaret wistfully. ‘“Honest Indian”!’ said Claude stoutly. 1991 J. O'Connor Cowboys & Indians (1992) 233 ‘Jesus,’ said Eddie..‘Everyone tells me this crap, and I don't know why.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘Honest Indian?’ she asked. ‘Really and truly,’ chortled Eddie. honest Injun n. colloquial (originally U.S.; now dated and offensive) used as an interjection to assert, or interrogatively as an appeal to, one's truthfulness, honour, or sincerity; cf. honour bright at honour n. Phrases 9; also as adv., and (occasionally) as adj.; cf. slightly earlier honest Indian n. ΚΠ 1857 Porter's Spirit of Times 23 May 182/3 Jersey, honest injun. Did you really kill those birds? 1858 Trinity Jrnl. (Weaverville, Calif.) 3 Apr. We did'nt say hang, once; honest Injun. We appeal to posterity. 1875 B. W. Howard One Summer x. 96 Do yer ask honest Injun, no cheatin' nor nothin'? 1885 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 9 July 4/5 You never catch the North Texan ..deviating one single jot from the strict old George Washington honest Injun truth. 1896 G. B. Shaw Let. 8 Sept. in E. Terry & G. B. Shaw Corr. (1931) 54 A thing she would never have done if she had not forgiven him quite thoroughly—honest Injun. 1905 Play Pictorial No. 40. 24/1 I'm bound to tell yer the honest Injun truth. 1950 L. A. G. Strong Which I Never i. 12 ‘You've invented him.’ ‘Which I never, sir...’ ‘Honest Injun?’ 2015 A. Titley tr. M. Ó Cadhain Dirty Dust i. 20 I don't get it, Margaret. Honest Injun, I just don't get it. Honest John n. (a) colloquial (also with lower-case initial in the first element) a truthful, trustworthy, or sincere man; (b) a type of surface-to-surface ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear warhead (now historical). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [noun] > sincere person Honest John1855 straight goods1892 pure1924 straight arrow1969 society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > [noun] > person or thing > person truelOE true mana1225 trusty1570 warrant1832 sea-green incorruptible1837 Honest John1855 Boy Scout1918 straight arrow1969 society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > guided or ballistic missile > [noun] > types of loon1947 seeker1949 Honest John1952 Nike1952 heat-seeker1956 anti-ballistic missile1957 Polaris1957 Pershing1958 SAM1958 cruise missile1959 sea-cat1959 minuteman1961 ABM1963 lance1964 Exocet1970 trident1972 MX missile1973 stinger1975 cruise1976 tomahawk1976 silo buster1977 Euromissile1979 Brilliant Pebbles1988 1855 Henry's Birthday 99 ‘An honest John!’ said they. ‘Give us more. They are so good we want two a-piece.’ 1902 E. R. Eastman Poems i. ix. 19 His cook, an honest John of Schwabian type, Refused to sell stale bread and stringy meat. 1952 Corpus Christi (Texas) Times 4 Jan. 4/3 Some day the missile men..may send..an ‘Honest John’ or one of the other missiles being developed,..with a loaded warhead directed at enemy bombers. 1994 P. Sleem Second Time Around xx. 290 Galleria didn't think you'd take the money. He thought you were too much of an Honest John. 2010 T. G. Wicks Huntsville Air & Space 9 Earlier in the year [sc. 1960], a Hawk missile had shot down an Honest John. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † honestv. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin honestāre. Etymology: < classical Latin honestāre to honour, to give a respectable appearance to, to adorn < honestus honest adj. Compare Anglo-Norman honester (14th cent. in an apparently isolated attestation). Obsolete. 1. transitive. To confer honour or dignity on; to do honour to; to honour (with something). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > honour > give honour to [verb (transitive)] wortheOE i-worthOE menskc1225 athelec1275 aworthyc1275 honoura1325 furtherc1374 honesta1382 worship1389 gloryc1400 dignifya1530 worthy1532 endue1565 enhonour1571 to do (a person or thing) the honour?1572 deign1579 honorify1606 famous1622 blazon1815 to do a person proud1819 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xi. 23 Liȝt is forsothe in the eȝen of God, sodeynly to honesten [a1425 L.V. to make onest; L. honestare] the pore. c1410 tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 145 Þe emperour..promoted hym sone into a bisshop, whiche honested [L. honestavit] with worþy maneres his place and his degre. 1543 G. Joye tr. U. Zwingli Rekening & Declar. Faith sig. cc.v^v The self same celebracion or feaste they orned and honested with the name of the selfe thinge. 1572 Abp. M. Parker Let. 13 Dec. in Corr. (1853) (modernized text) 411 For his more estimation I have honested him with a room in the Arches. 1616 B. Jonson Epicœne i. iv, in Wks. I. 537 You haue very much honested my lodging, with your presence. View more context for this quotation 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso 411 Good people haue much imbellished her outwardly, and honested her with the antient Title of August. 2. transitive. To cause (an undesirable action, quality, etc.) to appear honest or honourable; to justify, defend, excuse. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > justification > justify [verb (transitive)] righteousOE betell1048 justify?a1500 honest1598 warrant1671 righta1691 1598 F. Meres tr. Luis de Granada Sinners Guyde iii. xxv. 279 Vices shall be honested by vs, for they forsake vs, before we forsake them. 1602 W. Warner Epitome Hist. Eng. in Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) 396 It stoode him vpon to honest his actions. 1668 P. M. To Author of Ephesian Matron sig. G6, in W. Charleton Ephesian & Cimmerian Matrons That learned and pious Divine; who was willing to honest the poor womans lapse. 1684 W. Dillingham tr. Plutarch Cure of Anger in M. Morgan et al. tr. Plutarch Morals I. i. 77 Letting loose our wrath like a wild Beast,..extenuating, yea honesting it by the specious name of Zeal against Wickedness. 3. transitive. To make (a woman) respectable in terms of accepted standards of sexual morality. Cf. to make (a woman) an honest woman at honest adj. and adv. Phrases 1. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > celebrate (a marriage) [verb (transitive)] > marry after seduction to make an honest woman of (a woman)1562 honest1611 honestifya1652 1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xii. 585/1 A Strumpet, who was honested by lawfull matrimonie. a1652 R. Brome Weeding of Covent-Garden v. i. 86 in Five New Playes (1659) I ask no further satisfaction of you, then to be honested by marriage. 4. transitive. Used threateningly to express anger at the idea of being kept ‘honest’ (honest adj. 3b).Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1669 T. Shadwell Royal Shepherdess i. i. 12 You marry'd me to keep me honest, did you? I'le honest you; I will go instantly and meet 'em all three. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2021). < adj.adv.c1330v.a1382
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honestadj.adv.

Phrases

Compounds

† honestv.